HHLA Increases Number of Staff

Hamburger Hafen and Logistik AG (HHLA) hires approximately 100 new staff members. The first fifteen of these new employees have completed their qualification training and will now take up their positions at the Container Terminals Altenwerder and Burchardkai. Their training was conducted in partnership with the Maritime Competence Centre (ma-co) and funded by the German Federal Employment Agency.

Last summer, HHLA announced plans to increase its number of staff. By the end of the summer, a total of 2,800 people had applied for 100 advertised jobs. The successful candidates were chosen based on a structured selection process with strict criteria. They then attended a twelve-week training course at the Maritime Competence Centre (ma-co) to prepare for their future roles. The new employees’ duties will include operating container gantry cranes and straddle carriers. They are to be given permanent employment contracts. The rest of the new staff members will complete their training in the next few weeks.

Heinz Brandt, member of the executive board of HHLA and responsible for human resources, explains: “Container handling is set to grow further in Hamburg. Peak loading for handling large vessels is going to increase. By taking on new staff, we will be in an even better position to meet this challenge. We have confidence in Hamburg as a location and the new employees are evidence of that. We are also providing opportunities for the long-term unemployed in particular, thereby meeting our responsibilities as one of Hamburg’s key employers. The structured selection process was very rigorous. This was, however, the only way to ensure that we chose the most suitable candidates. We are also particularly grateful to the German Federal Employment Agency for their valuable partnership in the training.”

HHLA employs approximately 3,800 people in Hamburg, around 1,500 of whom work at the Container Terminals Altenwerder and Burchardkai.

Sönke Fock, CEO of the German Federal Employment Agency in Hamburg, emphasises the employment market aspects of the initiative: “Almost 890,000 people in Hamburg are employed in jobs with mandatory social insurance contributions, many of them in the Port of Hamburg. However, this hub for trade, sales and logistics will continue to need skilled workers in the long term. Professional training and development are therefore becoming increasingly important. For this reason, the German Federal Employment Agency and job centres are working closely with regional business partners to create more jobs and training positions through funded training courses and to end unemployment. I would like to wish the new staff members the best of luck as they begin their jobs as Port Logistics Specialists and I hope that the Port of Hamburg continues to enjoy a strong level of commercial activity.”